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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. snap — to click
  3. lean — to bend
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mine — for digging
  6. firm — decided
  7. court — for sport
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. court — of law
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. track — to keep track
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. track — a path
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — a song
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. court — of a king
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — a subject
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. firm — steady
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com